Indira Gandhi international airport in New Delhi, where a Malay-Australian man was reportedly detained for questioning.
Photograph: Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

An Australian has been deported from India on suspicions he was a supporter of Islamic State.

The man, whose removal from India was reported by local media and has been confirmed by Guardian Australia, was reportedly detained for questioning on Thursday after landing in Indira Gandhi international airport in New Delhi.

Officers acting on a tip-off searched the man’s laptop and allegedly found Islamic State propaganda and other jihadi literature, the Indian Express reported.

Photos reportedly found on his laptop showed the man bare-chested with an assault rifle and sitting with a pistol in his lap.

The man, reportedly of Malaysian origin, has been returned to Perth.

The news outlet claimed he had secured a valid visa and said he was in New Delhi for a meeting in the city’s Nizamuddin area.

“However, after scouring through the contents of his laptop, a call was taken that it was too dangerous to allow him to enter India and he was sent back,” a source was quoted saying.

Fearful of lone wolf attacks, India is cracking down on alleged Islamic State supporters.

Four people were arrested by Indian security officers in late January and accused of being members of a local IS cell, Junood-al-Khalifa-e-Hind, allegedly planning attacks across the country in 2016. Another man was arrested on 1 February, accused of ties to the group.

Three men in their 20s were handed over to India by the United Arab Emirates on 28 January on suspicion of being Isis recruiters.